300+ Experts Urge President Obama to Intervene to Protect Workers from Toxic Dust

Last Valentine’s Day, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration sent a proposed science-based rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review that would protect workers from silica. Regrettably, many months later, the OMB has not acted on the proposal, preventing OSHA from even seeking public input—and public health advocates are getting impatient.

A worker inside a tile-making factory, circa 1936, where exposure to large amounts of silica dust was common. 1.7 million American workers are exposed to silica dust each year. Photo courtesy of the CDC

The OMB is given 90 days – with the possibility of a 45 day extension – to review a proposed rule. But the proposal has sat at the OMB for nearly a year without a response or even a timeline for completion.

Frustrated by the delay, this week more than 300 public health scientists and occupational safety experts sent a letter to President Obama, urging him to intervene and tell OMB to complete the review so that the public comment period on the proposal can begin. The letter received coverage in the Huffington Post, EHS Today, and the Pump Handle.

Crystalline silica, a basic component of soil, sand, granite, and many other minerals, which may become particles small enough to breath in when workers chip, cut, drill, or grind objects, is a long-recognized serious occupational health hazard. Exposure to silica can cause an irreversible, progressive lung disease called silicosis. The CDC completed a hazard review of the Health Effects of Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica (say that ten times fast!) in 2002, finding that in addition to silicosis, studies indicate that silica exposure can increase the risk of lung cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis, and airways diseases.

OSHA has spent fourteen years developing the proposed rule, and the draft risk assessment was subject to an independent peer review. In December, the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health wrote the secretaries of Labor and Health and Human Services to emphasize the importance of issuing the proposed silica rule “so that the public hearings and comment period can commence, and a final silica standard issued to protect workers from this serious workplace hazard.”

With each day that passes, more workers are exposed to the harmful particles. “This delay in action by OMB leaves workers at significant risk of disease and death,” according to the letter. “It also prevents the rulemaking process from moving forward, obstructing public participation on this important worker safety and public health matter.”

Support from UCS members make work like this possible. Will you join us? Help UCS advance independent science for a healthy environment and a safer world.

Show Comments

Comment Policy

UCS welcomes comments that foster civil conversation and debate. To help maintain a healthy, respectful discussion, please focus comments on the issues, topics, and facts at hand, and refrain from personal attacks. Posts that are commercial, self-promotional, obscene, rude, or disruptive will be removed.

Please note that comments are open for two weeks following each blog post. UCS respects your privacy and will not display, lend, or sell your email address for any reason.

:steven hawking is looking for & assistant. as of also now he has recanted his info. being lost from black holes, but instead is now just saying that the univ. will go into a rebang. i have stated that happening of a rebang of the univ.in a copyrighted thesis a 1/4 century ago. ( among other items). is their anyone out there who can sponsor, endorse,or underwrite me to him to get the assistant job? thanx steve evart.